Famous pianist Godowski wrote in his 1915 edition of Schumann’s Kinderscenen that Schumann had “an incomprehensible lack of judgment in deciding the speed of every number”. In other words: a great composer, but a musical ignorant…? We may not say or write these kind of things anymore but… we still act in our performances accordingly, not paying attention to Schumann’s carefully given metronome numbers.
Let’s dive into this fascinating subject together and, really first time here on the channel, I’ll demonstrate some pieces on my 1866 Erard piano.

Otto Klemperer, one of the greatest conductors of all time, but a name we never connect to an ‘authentic’ performance, certainly not of Bach, where a name as Ton Koopman does ring a bell. But is Klemperer really off track in all aspects? Let’s skip a b/w discussion here and see what happens if we compare the last choir of Bach’s Matthaus Passion with a version of Ton Koopman.